Oriental chain-ring game card and method of playing the same

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a five-element game card and a method of playing an oriental chain-ring game card. The five-element game card comprises ten cards per suit of wood, fire, earth, metal and water as a deck of base cards, wherein each of the base cards has five-element display areas at an upper and a lower portions, for displaying a color specifying one of the wood, fire, earth, metal and water, and acquirement display areas for arranging at least one of colors representing the five-element display areas at one side of the five-element display areas to display another base card that can be acquired using the base card. According to the present invention described above, people may understand the principle of Oriental five elements to some extents through simple rules of the game and enjoy card games of a new type. Furthermore, eldery people can be prevented from getting senile dementia.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a five-element game card and rules of playing an oriental chain-ring game card, and particularly, to a five-element game card and a method of playing an oriental chain-ring game card, in which the card game is designed based on five elements consisting of wood, fire, earth, metal and water and played on a basis of the principle of mutual survival and mutual destruction of the five elements, thereby allowing people to enjoy card games of a new type. The philosophy of five elements is called ‘O-Haeing’ in Korean language.

2. Background of the Related Art

In Korea, people enjoy card games using a Hwatoo, i.e. a Korean playing card known to have been originated in either in Korea or Japan, or a playing card originated in Europe. The Hwatoo comprises 48 cards in twelve suits of pictures drawing pine, apricot, cherry, orchid, peony, chrysanthemum, paulownia, and the like based on four seasons, containing four cards in each suit. With the Hwatoo, people generally enjoy a card game called as GO-Stop. Pictures on the Hwatoo are Oriental style pictures drawing shapes of various objects including plants and/or animals mostly symbolizing Sipjangsaeng (ten substances that live long lives) and Sagunja (four gracious plants). And the Hwatoo has been an important cultural part of Korean society in terms of relationships among friends and business partners.

However, the Hwatoo has a problem in that it is difficult for both Westerners and Oriental people to understand Oriental thoughts, and the method of playing a GO-Stop game are somewhat complex to be easily understood by Western people, particularly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a five-element game card and a method of playing an oriental chain-ring game card, in which the card game is designed based on five elements, i.e., wood, fire, earth, metal and water, which are a root of Oriental thoughts, and played on a basis of the principle of mutual survival and mutual destruction of the five elements. People playing this card game may understand Oriental thoughts of the five elements to some extents through simple rules of the game and enjoy card games of a new type.

To accomplish the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a five-element game card comprising ten cards per suit of wood, fire, earth, metal and water as a deck of base cards, wherein each of the base cards has five-element display areas at an upper and a lower portions, for displaying a color specifying one of the wood, fire, earth, metal and water, and acquirement display areas for arranging at least one of colors representing the five-element display areas at one side of the five-element display areas to display other base cards that can be acquired using the base card.

It is preferable that the wood is displayed in blue, the fire in red, the earth in yellow, the metal in white, and the water in black.

It is preferable that the fire is expressed as a certain pattern (such as a four-leaf clover) drawn in the red. Fire is a synonym of flower in the oriental philosophy of O-Haeing.

It is preferable that a picture, character, or a figure representing the wood, fire, earth, metal or water is further displayed in a middle portion, the five-element display areas, and the acquirement display areas of the base card.

It is preferable that a number is further displayed in the five-element display areas.

It is preferable that the number is between ‘1’ and ‘10’, and numbers ‘1’ to ‘5’ are displayed in ascending order, whereas numbers ‘6’ to ‘10’ are displayed in descending order.

It is preferable that a certain color is further displayed in the middle portion of the base card, and middle portions of at least two base cards in the deck are displayed in the same color as those of their five-element display areas.

It is preferable that the five-element game card further comprises king cards and queen cards expressed as a character or a picture, for acquiring a certain base card, and J cards expressed as a character or a picture, for acquiring two certain base cards or one of the king and queen cards, wherein two high and low numbers are displayed in a pair on each of the king, queen, and J cards.

It is preferable that the base card further comprises a special symbol such as a star marked thereon.

Through the means described above, people may understand principle of Oriental five elements to some extents through simple rules of the game played on the basis of wood, fire, earth, metal and water.

In addition, although the method of playing the game of the present invention are designed based on the principle of mutual survival and mutual destruction of the five elements, people of all ages in the world may enjoy the game without memorizing or understanding the rules since a card that can be acquired is displayed on each card. Therefore, although a player is not familiar with the principle of five elements or rules of the game in practice, the player may easily enjoy card games of a new type if the player understands a card to be acquired, which is displayed on a card, and some simple rules needed for calculating points.

In addition, eldery people can be prevented from getting senile dementia, and children may enhance ability of distinguishing colors and figures and performing simple arithmetical computation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.

FIG. 1 is a view showing ten cards corresponding to wood among base cards of a five-element game card of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing ten cards corresponding to fire among base cards of a five-element game card of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing ten cards corresponding to earth among base cards of a five-element game card of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing ten cards corresponding to metal among base cards of a five-element game card of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view showing ten cards corresponding to water among base cards of a five-element game card of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view showing privileged cards of a five-element game card of the present invention.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are views respectively showing an arrangement of cards determining a winner in a game of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The preferred embodiments of the invention will be hereafter described in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In regard to the term “Chain-Ring” as defined herein, the term “Chain” refers to a possible sequence of cards to form a winning combination, in the order of Tree, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. Since Tree can follow Water, there are special cases of card sequences whose lengths are a multiple of five (5). Then these Chains are called “Ring”. A Ring gives more combinations of winning number selection than a Chain.

FIG. 1 is a view showing ten cards corresponding to wood among base cards of a five-element game card of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view showing ten cards corresponding to fire among base cards of a five-element game card of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a view showing ten cards corresponding to earth among base cards of a five-element game card of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing ten cards corresponding to metal among base cards of a five-element game card of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a view showing ten cards corresponding to water among base cards of a five-element game card of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view showing privileged cards of a five-element game card of the present invention, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are views respectively showing an arrangement of cards determining a winner in a game of the present invention.

As shown in the figures, the five-element game card of the present invention comprises ten cards per suit of wood, fire, earth, metal and water as a deck of base cards.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the five-element game card of the present invention comprises five suits of wood cards 19, fire cards 20, earth cards 30, metal cards 40, and water cards 50, respectively containing ten cards, and thus a deck contains fifty (5×10) cards comprising ten cards per suit as base cards.

Five-element display areas 11 to 51 are formed at the upper and lower portions of the base cards 10 to 50, and acquirement display areas 12 to 52 are formed at one side of respective five-element display areas 11 to 51. The five-element display areas 11 to 51 and acquirement display areas 12 to 52 are formed at the upper and lower portions of respective cards to easily identify a card wherever the card is placed, i.e., to enhance distinctiveness of the card.

The five-element display areas 11 to 51 are formed in colors. The colors specify the five-elements. In the Orient, the wood of the five elements is represented by blue, fire by red, earth by yellow, metal by white, and water by black, respectively.

Therefore, the wood cards 10 are displayed in blue, the fire cards 20 in red, the earth cards 20 in yellow, the metal cards 40 in white, and the water cards 50 in black to form the five-element display areas 21 to 51.

The acquirement display areas 12 to 52 are formed to show other base cards 10 to 50 that the base cards 10 to 50 may acquire in a game. Each of the acquirement display areas 12 to 52 arranges at least one of the colors displayed in the five-element display areas 11 to 51 to show other base cards 10 to 50 that can be acquired.

For example, the wood card 10 arranges red and yellow to form the acquirement display areas 12. Then, the wood card 10 may acquire any one or both of the fire and earth cards 20 and 30 whose five-element display areas 21 and 31 are respectively displayed in red and yellow in a game. At this point, the red is based on mutual survival of the five elements, and the yellow is based on mutual destruction of the five elements. It is noted that this principle is applied to all cards when colors are arranged on the acquirement display areas 12 to 52.

The fire card 20 arranges yellow and white to form the acquirement display areas 22. Therefore, the fire card 20 may acquire any one or both of the earth and metal cards 30 and 40 in a game.

The earth card 30 arranges white and black to form the acquirement display areas 32. Therefore, the earth card 30 may acquire any one or both of the metal and water cards 40 and 50 in a game.

The metal card 40 arranges black and blue to form the acquirement display areas 42. Therefore, the metal card 40 may acquire any one or both of the water and wood cards 50 and 10 in a game.

The water card 50 arranges blue and red to form the acquirement display areas 52. Therefore, the water card 50 may acquire any one or both of the wood and fire cards 10 and 20 in a game.

Here, the fire of the five elements is expressed as a certain pattern drawn in red, which forms five-element display areas 11 to 51 and acquirement display areas 12 to 52 corresponding to the red. It is since that if blue and red colors are mixed in a card, contrast of the colors is so unclear that a color-blind or weak-sighted person may suffer from not being able to distinguish the colors. Therefore, if the fire is expressed as, for example, a clover pattern drawn in red, the problem related to the contrast of colors may be overcome to some extent. Any pattern may be used providing that the pattern is arranged not too disorderly.

Numbers 14 to 54 are shown in the five-element display areas 11 to 51 of the base cards 10 to 50 described above. The numbers are between ‘1’ and ‘10’, and preferably, numbers ‘1’ to ‘5’ are displayed in ascending order, whereas numbers ‘6’ to ‘10’ in descending order. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the numbers 14 to 54 are displayed in order of ‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 9, 8, 7, and 6’. Theses numbers 14 to 54 are used to count points in a game.

In addition, middle potions 13 to 53 of the base cards 10 to 50 are displayed in a certain color. Although yellowish green, i.e., a neutral color between green and yellow, which is a near-natural color distinguishable from the colors of the five-element display areas 11 to 51 while giving less fatigue to the eyes, is preferably used as a color of the middle portions 13 to 53, it is noted that the color is not limited thereto.

Middle portions 13 to 53 of at least two base cards in a deck are displayed in the same color as those of their five-element display areas 11 to 51. For example, middle portions of the 1st and 10th cards of the wood cards 10 are displayed in blue as is those of the five-element display areas 11 of the wood cards, 2nd and 9th cards of the fire cards 20 in red as is those of the five-element display areas 21, 3rd and 8th cards of the earth cards 30 in yellow as is those of the five-element display areas 31, 4th and 7th cards of the metal cards 40 in white as is those of he five-element display areas 41, and 5th and 6th cards of the water cards 50 in black as is those of the five-element display areas 51.

In addition, a picture, character, or drawing (a reference number is not shown) representing wood, fire, earth, metal or water is drawn on each of the middle portions 13 to 53, five-element display areas 11 to 51, and acquirement display areas 12 to 52. The wood, metal, water, and earth are expressed as pictures respectively shaping a wood, diamond, fish, and English letter ‘G’ in a rectangular box symbolizing the earth, and the fire is expressed as a clover pattern that forms the five-element display areas 11 to 51 and the acquirement display areas 12 to 52 of the fire cards. The wood, fire, earth, metal and water are expressed as English letters, Korean characters or the like, and it is also noted that the wood, fire, earth, metal and water may be expressed as a variety of figures as well. If the wood, fire, earth, metal and water are expressed as pictures, characters, or figures together with colors as described, distinctiveness of the cards may be greatly enhanced.

Further, the rule for constructing winning sequence of cards 10 to 50 can be simplified as the following. The center 13 to 53 icon at the top and bottom of each base card can be omitted, when the icons (or symbols) of tree, fire (flower), earth, metal, and water (fish) are composed of 3, 4, 5, 6, and 2 pieces of icon units. Then, the players can easily recognize and construct winning sequences by simply comparing the number of pieces in the icon body of different base cards 10 to 50.

Also, “Earth” may be represented as “Ground” and “Metal” may be represented as “Rock” in the base cards design.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the five-element game card of the present invention further comprises three types of privileged cards including king cards 60, queen cards 70, and J cards 80, in addition to the base cards 10 to 50.

A king card 60 is expressed as a word such as ‘King’ or a picture such as the ‘Sun’, which is qualified to acquire a certain base card 10 to 50.

A queen card 70 is expressed as a word such as ‘Queen’ or a picture such as the ‘Moon’, which is qualified to acquire a certain base card 10 to 50 as is the king card 60.

A J card 80 is expressed as a letter such as ‘J’ or a picture such as ‘Pierrot’, which is qualified to acquire two certain base cards 10 to 50 or either of the king or queen card 60 or 70.

Two high and low numbers (e.g., ‘10’ and ‘0’) are displayed in a pair on each of the king, queen, and J cards 60, 70, and 80, and some of the base cards 10 to 50 are marked with a special symbol 91 such a star (refer to FIGS. 1 to 3). The J card 80 is further qualified to acquire one of the base cards marked with a special symbol 91 (e.g., 2nd cards of the wood cards 10, fire cards 20, and earth cards 30).

The base cards 10 to 50 marked with a symbol 91 such as a star will be practically referred to as star cards in a game. More or less than three cards of the base cards 10 to 50 are randomly defined as the star cards, and such star cards are used to give precedence to a player having acquired more star cards to be determined as a winner only when points of players are the same. Such a symbol 91 is preferably not marked on a card whose middle portion 13 to 53 and five-element display area 11 to 51 have the same color.

Hereinafter, a method of playing the oriental chain-ring game card of the present is described.

First, the dealer shuffles well fifty base cards 10 to 50, king cards 60, queen cards 70, and J cards 80. Some of the cards are dealt to players, some are spread on the table face upward, and the other cards are piled on the table face downward. For example, the cards are distributed by 11s, 9, and 22 in the sequence described above if there are two players, distributed by 8s, 5, and 24 if three players, distributed by 6s, 5, and 24 if four players, distributed by 5s, 3 (or 8), and 25 (or 20) if five players, and distributed by 4s, 5, and 24 if six players.

After the cards are distributed, starting from the dealer, a player puts down one of the base cards 10 to 50 that the player has on the table. If one of the base cards 10 to 50 spread on the table matches to the acquirement display area 12 to 52 of the card put down on the table, the player takes both of the cards.

Then, the player opens the uppermost card of the cards piled on the table. If the opened card is one of the base cards 10 to 50 and the acquirement display area 12 to 52 of the opened card matches to one of the cards spread on the table, the player takes both of the cards.

If the player puts down or opens a king or queen card 60 or 70, the player may take any one of the cards spread on the table. If the player puts down or opens a J card 80, the player may take any two of the cards spread on the table, or either of a king or queen card 60 or 70 if they are spread on the table. In addition, the player may take a base card 10 to 50 marked with a special symbol 91 if the base card is spread on the table. If there still remains any of the king cards 60, queen cards 70, and J cards 80 on the table when the game is over, the players take one of the cards in the sequence of the players.

If all the cards spread on the table are acquired in this manner, the players examine their cads to determine a winner. The winner is a player who acquired more combinations of cards in which the cards are arranged in order of wood, fire, earth, metal and water and the colors respectively specifying the wood, fire, earth, metal and water are the same in the five-element display areas 11 to 51 and the middle portions 13 to 53.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the five-element display areas 11 to 51 and the middle portions 13 to 53 of respective acquired cards have the same color specifying the wood, fire, earth, metal or water. The cards are arranged in order of wood, fire, earth, metal and water to form combinations of a multiplication of five cards, and a player who collects more combinations in the form of a chain or a ring becomes the winner.

For example, when there are two players, and if a player collects two combinations of cards shown in FIG. 7 and the other player collects one combination of cards shown in FIG. 7, the player who collects the two combinations becomes the winner. If a player is in short of one or more cards to make a combination, the player may complete the combination by using one or more of the king cards 60, queen cards 70, and J cards 80 that the player has collected.

However, if two or more players have the same number of the combinations, numbers 14 to 54 of two (or three or more) adjacent cards in the card arrangement are selected, and a player having the highest sum of the numbers is determined as a winner. This rule should be settled before starting a game.

For example, referring to FIG. 7, the rule is settled to determine a player having the highest sum of two numbers 14 as a winner, and a player selects adjacent numbers 14 ‘10’ and ‘2’ or ‘7’ and ‘5’. If sums of numbers 14 to 54 selected by the other players are lower than ‘12’, the player is determined as a winner. At this point, numbers on the king cards 60, queen cards 70, and J cards 80 are selectively used depending on the rule.

If the length of a chain is a multiplication of five, such as wood, fire, earth, metal and water, the chain may also configures a ring, and thus there is one more case for selecting two numbers 14 to 54. Although the five-element game card is configured to play games similar to those of existing playing cards or Hwatoo, concepts of a chain and a ring are added in the present invention to generate more game rules.

If sums of two numbers of two or more players are the same, any one of J cards 80, queen cards 70, and king cards 60 is compared with J cards 80, queen cards 70, and king cards 60 of the other players, and a winner is determined in order of the king card 60, queen card 70, and J card 80.

If two or more players have the same J cards 80, queen cards 70, or king cards 60, a player collected more base cards 10 to 50 marked with the special symbol 91 is determined as a winner.

Alternatively, when all the acquired cards are continuously arranged in order of wood, fire, earth, metal and water, a player having the longest arrangement may be determined as a winner (refer to FIG. 8). If a player is in short of one or more cards to continue the arrangement, the player may connect the arrangement by using one or more of the king cards 60, queen cards 70, and J cards 80 that the player has collected.

If two or more players have the same length of the arrangement, a winner is determined depending on the sequence of determining a winner described above. Numbers of two adjacent cards are selected, and a player having the highest sum of the two numbers may be determined as a winner. Or, any one of the J cards 80, queen cards 70, and king cards 60 is compared with those of the other players, and a winner is determined in order of the king card 60, queen card 70, and J card 80. Or, a player collected more base cards 10 to 50 marked with the special symbol 91 such as a star is determined as a winner.

According to the present invention described above, people may understand principle of Oriental five elements to some extents through simple rules of the game played on the basis of wood, fire, earth, metal and water, and enjoy card games of a new type. Furthermore, eldery people can be prevented from getting senile dementia.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

The game rules are self-explanatory on the faces of the base cards. Therefore, players of the game do not have to memorize the mutual relationships of the base cards nor the rules for obtaining the cards. 

1. A five-element game card comprising ten cards per suit of wood, fire, earth, metal and water as a deck of base cards, wherein each of the base cards has five-element display areas at an upper and a lower portions, for displaying a color specifying one of the wood, fire, earth, metal and water, and acquirement display areas for arranging at least one of colors representing the five-element display areas at one side of the five-element display areas to display other base cards that can be acquired using the base card.
 2. The game card according to claim 1, wherein the wood is displayed in blue, the fire in red, the earth in yellow, the metal in white, and the water in black.
 3. The game card according to claim 2, wherein the fire is expressed as a certain pattern drawn in the red.
 4. The game card according to claim 1, wherein a picture, character, or a figure representing the wood, fire, earth, metal or water is further displayed in a middle portion, the five-element display areas, and the acquirement display areas of the base card.
 5. The game card according to claim 1, wherein a number is further displayed in the five-element display areas.
 6. The game card according to claim 5, wherein the number is between ‘1’ and ‘10’, and numbers ‘1’ to ‘5’ are displayed in ascending order, whereas numbers ‘6’ to ‘10’ are displayed in descending order.
 7. The game card according to claim 1, wherein a certain color is further displayed in the middle portion of the base card, and middle portions of at least two base cards in the deck are displayed in the same color as those of their five-element display areas.
 8. The game card according to claim 1, further comprising king cards and queen cards expressed as a character or a picture, for acquiring a certain base card, and J cards expressed as a character or a picture, for acquiring two certain base cards or one of the king and queen cards, wherein two high and low numbers are displayed in a pair on each of the king, queen, and J cards.
 9. The game card according to claim 8, wherein a special symbol such as a star is further marked on the base card.
 10. A method of playing an oriental chain-ring game card, the method comprising the steps of: shuffling basic, king, queen, and J cards, dealing some of the cards to players, spreading some of the cards on a table, and piling the other cards on the table face downward; starting from a dealer, putting down one of the base cards that a player has on the table face upward, acquiring one of the base cards spread on the table in a pair with the base card put down on the table if the base card spread on the table matches to an acquirement display area of the base card put down on the table, opening one of the cards piled on the table, acquiring one of the base cards spread on the table in a pair with the opened card if the opened card is a base card and the base card on the table matches to an acquirement display area of the opened base card, acquiring any one of the base cards spread on the table together with a king or queen card if the player puts down or opens the king or queen card, acquiring any two of the base cards spread on the table together with a J card if the player puts down or opens the J card or either of a king or queen card if the player puts down or opens the J card and the king or queen card is spread on the table, and acquiring one of king, queen, and J cards in a sequence of the players if any of the king, queen, and J cards is still left on the table in the final round of the game; and determining a winner as a player who acquires more combinations of the cards, the combination wherein the cards are arranged in order of wood, fire, earth, metal and water, and colors respectively specifying wood, fire, earth, metal and water are the same in five-element display areas and middle portions of the cards, or a player having a longest combination of cards arranged in order of the wood, fire, earth, metal and water.
 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the winner is determined by selecting numbers of two adjacent cards in a card arrangement and determining a player having a highest or lowest sum of the numbers if a winner is not determined in the step of determining a winner, by comparing any one of J, queen, and king cards with J, queen, and king cards of the other players and determining a winner in order of the king, queen, and J card if a winner is not determined by comparing sums of the two numbers, and by determining a player who collects more base cards marked with a special symbol such as a star if a winner is not determined by comparing the J, queen, or king cards. 